The Man At Arms Is Turning Fantasy Into Reality, One Weapon At A Time

Tony Swatton's isn't a career you'd expect to see in modern-day North America. He's a blacksmith, one whose specialization lies in the creation of arms and armor. It's a profession he's been working at for over thirty years, and one in which he's found a great deal of success. His business - Sword & Stone - has provided hand-crafted armor and weaponry for over two hundred feature films, and Swatton himself is known throughout the film industry as pretty much the best source of historically accurate gear you'll find.

Although he uses a great many modern tools and techniques to help speed the process along, his stuff's definitely still legit.

Recently, Swatton decided to do something a touch unusual: he decided to take his skills to YouTube. Back in February, he started up a series known as Man-At-Arms, where every week he'll look through fan suggestions to forge a new weapon stemming from anime, film, literature, or video games. It's pretty much exactly as awesome as it sounds.

The weapons - and the process used to create them - is about as genuine as you'll find anywhere. Swatton and his team actually walk you through the process they use in the creation of each weapon - as well as giving a brief demonstration of that weapon's capabilities after completion. The best part about the series, though?

Anyone can suggest a weapon, so there's a very real chance that if there's something you want to see forged, all you need to do is comment. If enough people share your desire, your weapon will become reality. Your comment might even be featured in the video's intro.

Although they've a huge selection of video game weaponry, games are hardly their only area of focus. They've forged weapons from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games, Kick-Ass, and even Batman Begins. They've even forged Oddjob's hat.

Check out the YouTube channel here, or swing by Sword & Stone if you fancy yourself a serious collector. Just remember - smithing ain't cheap, and you'd best be prepared to drop a pretty penny on whatever gear you're looking to acquire from Swatton's shop.